The SA Post Office regrettably cautions its customers to expect temporary sporadic delays in mail conveyance in some areas, owing to fleet management operational challenges which are impacting mail in transit. Customers are assured that the operational challenges causing these delays are short-lived and all efforts are underway to return operations to normality.

We request customer’s understanding while we are resolving the cause of the operational challenges in this regard. We advise customers to liaise with branch management or the SA Post Office national call centre (0860 111 502 or socialmedia@postoffice.co.za) in instances where there are urgent deliveries, or any mail and parcel delivery related enquiries.

JOHANNESBURG – The Health Products Association (HPA) says its welcomes a decision by the Department of Health to change new regulations that would have forced complementary health products to prove the claims they make in their labelling. The association had claimed that the earlier regulations contained definitions that were too tight and thus thousands of products would have had to be removed from the market. That would have meant that dozens of products currently on the pharmacy shelf would no longer be available. HPA president Bruce Benison admits there is a need for proper regulation in this market but maintains they have to be suitable. Stephen Grootes | for EWN

Natural Health Alliance is a newly established organisation representing various sectors of the Natural Medicine Industry. The NHA was formed to protect, educate and empower the natural health industry, health practitioners and consumers across South Africa including but not limited to doctors, African traditional healers, manufacturers, importers (OTC and ‘practitioner-only’), retailers, patients and general consumers.

The alliance was founded to draw public attention to a very serious situation unfolding in South Africa today, and to shine a light on the fact, that there is an organized and systematic effort underway to severely restrict the domestic natural health products sector in South Africa. We also reserve our right to legally challenge health regulation which unfairly restricts access to natural health products.

Together we all volunteer our time to do whatever it takes to protect our rights and freedom of access to largely safe and effective micro-nutrients (vitamins, minerals, amino acids, herbs, probiotics, other natural health substances and healthy food. We're active against government control through irrational, disproportionate, arbitrary, unreasonable, unconstitutional regulation passed in November 2013.

The NHA believes our country needs a strong professional health freedom organization to create a strong unified voice, a clear message, a central locus and hub of information, so the voice of health freedom is heard. With this in mind, NHA has begun a fundraising effort to support the development of a national office and a professional legal, scientific and public policy team to go forward.

The Mission:To promote access to all health care information, services, treatments and products that the people deem beneficial for their own health and survival; to promote an understanding of the laws and factors impacting the right to access; and to promote the health of the people of this nation.

The NHA will soon be writing to all health stores and pharmacies in South Africa, detailing the regulatory threat to the sustainability of their OTC health products. If you are a health shop or pharmacy owner, join the NHA today

Africa and the Middle East represent the fastest growing market segment in the global nutraceutical environment. Understanding the latest trends and recent regulatory, economic and technological developments is critical to marketers ~ in order to fully capitalise upon a burgeoning landscape of some 48-million local consumers.

Buying into the health and fitness trend:

Thanks to improved health awareness, as well as accessibility to healthcare facilities; South Africa's market for natural health supplements is being fuelled by growth within the middle-class population ~ displaying an incremental disposable income. Buyers between the ages of 20 and 39 years, in particular ~ are proving an increasingly lucrative user segment, as this group is expected to advance 25 to 45 percent between 2000 and 2015.

Snapshot: Dietary supplements and vitamins

In South Africa, dietary supplements are more popular than vitamins, and are used to support inadequate diets, improve mental and physical performance through increased energy, as well as ward off sickness. Notable dietary supplement categories include garlic, ginseng, ginkgo biloba, evening primrose oil, Echinacea, St. John's Wort and eye health supplements. Multivitamins remain steadfast as the most favoured product within the vitamin category, due to their ability to aid overall health.

They are also perceived as the most affordable to many consumer groups:

ü Vitamins C and E are the most popular single vitamins

ü Amino acids are also highly sought after in South Africa

ü Other popular vitamins in the market include: calcium, magnesium, B1, B2, B12 and essential fatty acids, such as Omega-3 and Omega-6

Vitamins for relieving lifestyle disease symptoms are gaining importance, for example Chromium; while symptom-specific supplements are also securing acceptance, for example those assisting in the relief of the indicators of menopause. High growth areas within the vitamin and dietary supplement market in South Africa are represented in tonics and bottled nutritive drinks, as well as child-specific vitamins and dietary supplements.

Question: How effective are the plethora of dietary supplements, vitamins and barrage of (often contradictory) medical advice ~ which consumers are exposed to, on a day-to-day basis?

Further question: Is there a way out of the health-myth maze?

Says Dr John Briffa, Director, Dr Briffa Wellness, "We are constantly bombarded with health messages, many of which can be confusing."

Dr Briffa is a leading authority on the impact of nutrition and other lifestyle factors on health and illness. He is dedicated to providing individuals with information and advice they can use to take control of their health and optimise their energy and vitality.

Dr Briffa will be presenting at Vitafoods Africa, the continent's only nutraceutical event for complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs), dietary supplements and functional food industries. This year, the conference will be held from 1 to 3 October 2014, at The Forum, The Campus, Bryanston, Johannesburg. Inhis dedicated session, Dr John Briffa will use science and clinical experience to detonate a range of health myths, and reveal the truth about a range of pertinent health topics including weight loss, cholesterol, exercise, sunlight exposure and sleep.

"My session will be evidence-based, but will also provide practical, real-world advice about how to achieve vibrant good health, using simple and sustainable lifestyle change.

"Some of the questions which I look forward to addressing, include:

· Does saturated fat really cause heart disease?

· Is margarine really healthier than butter?

· Does sunlight cause melanoma?

· Is sleep really 'unproductive' time?

· Is exercise really effective for weight loss?"

Be sure not to miss Dr Briffa, as well as other principal experts and industry leaders at Vitafoods Africa. It is the ideal platform and must-attend meeting place for reputable manufacturing specialists, practitioners, analysts, as well as suppliers of ingredients and raw materials.